Large Raised Paver Patio with Retaining Walls

Looking to fully enjoy retirement, the owners were doing a large renovation of their back and side yards. It is under this context that they approached our landscaping company.

We were tasked with creating a raised paver patio area that would meet their side and back doors in their house. A lower level was also to be added due to the varying levels of their side and back yards. Stairs in this case were not needed as the height difference was low enough to act as a single step in itself. Additionally,  a fence would be installed on top of the retaining wall at the borders of the patio area. While we did not do the fence installation ourselves, we had to take this into account when building the retaining wall to ensure the fence on top will not be at risk of falling over from the extra load.

Due to the size of this project, a slinger truck was brought in to quickly bring in the many cubic yards of road base we needed to raise and support the patio area. The mini excavator was used in conjunction to help spread the various aggregate materials and of course a good old fashioned rake.

We worked with the owners on sourcing and transporting the blocks for the retaining wall as our local landscaping supplier did not carry this particular design.

Once the road base was in place, a small trench outlining the border was dug and the retaining wall laboriously installed to ensure stability and levelness. Installing block retaining walls is one of the more time consuming landscaping jobs as it requires a lot of time to ensure it is level front to back and side to side.

Once the wall was completed, the pavers themselves could be installed. The main challenge during this landscape project was making sure that the final height would meet the door while keeping the pitch such that there was sufficient drainage. Additionally, since the different parts of the yard were at slightly different elevations and slopes, all of this had to come together without any steep sudden drops or rises.

To ensure stability of the retaining wall once a fence was put on top of it, all the blocks were glued together using masonry adhesives. Metal brackets were then drilled into the capstones prior to fence installation.

During the entire process, the homeowners were very friendly and gracious. It was very pleasant to converse with them during various interludes. It made for very pleasant landscaping work despite some of its difficulties.

Thus far they have been very pleased with the results and were delighted to be able to enjoy their new space in time for summer.